The opening round of the 2024 FIM Enel MotoE World Championship took place on March 22-23 at the Algarve circuit in Portugal, also known as Portimao. This season’s first MotoE race coincided with the second round of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship.
FELO, Shanghai Felotek (STOAT), supported the FELO Gresini MotoE team, which maintained its roster from the previous year. The team was led by Italian rider Matteo Ferrari, who rode the #11 bike and finished third in the MotoE championship for two consecutive years, alongside his teammate Alessio Finello, also from Italy, riding the #72 bike.
During the qualifying session, Ferrari struggled in the mixed weather conditions, securing only the 11th position on the grid, while Finello started from 14th.
The two races of the MotoE season opener were held on Sunday, March 23, each consisting of 7 laps, approximately 32 kilometers.
In the first race, Ferrari entered the top ten in the second lap but crashed in the fourth, losing his chance at a podium finish. However, he managed to remount and complete the race in 12th place, scoring his first points of the season. Finello also had a fall in the second lap but rejoined the track quickly, finishing 13th and earning 3 points.
In the second race, Ferrari consistently followed the leading group, securing an eighth-place finish, just over a second behind the winner. Finello found his rhythm from the third lap onwards, overtaking several rivals to finish 13th again.
After the Portuguese opener, Ferrari commented, “It’s a race to forget, even though we improved in the second part. We tried to collect some important data during the pre-season test (which took place at this track in late February), but bad weather conditions (rain) didn’t allow us to do so. I’m satisfied with the speed in the race, but starting so far back wasn’t enough. We’ll arrive at Le Mans (the second round in mid-May) ready to bounce back!”
Finello shared, “It was a complicated day, especially in the first race where I might have been too eager, causing me to run wide in the first corner of the second lap and end up in the gravel, but I could still come back and finish 13th. In the second race, I missed the chance to fight with the riders ahead, but I was faster. I worked well with the team, scored some points, and from here, we can keep growing and improving.”